Orion AZ-3 Altazimuth Mount

3.0 Great for manual high-power tracking. Poor for low-power sweeping.

Relatively inexpensive. Lightweight. Slow-motion controls tracks for high-power excellently.

Bearings too sticky for low-power sweeping. Balance issues near zenith. Alternatives?

This is the same mount as the listed [another non-Orion brand] AZ3 mount, but sold by Orion. The mount with its slow motion controls works great for tracking the Moon and planets in a small telescope even at very high powers. Unfortunately, it fails miserably for low power sweeping as the altitude bearings use a friction washer that periodically needs tightening. Most scopes lose balance in altitude beyond a certain elevation regardless, but in any case for low power sweeping the bearings are either too tight, or too loose when overly used.

The mounting works best for me when a Coronado PST is mounted. Tracking the Sun is a cinch and comfortable and the scope is light enough that there are no balance issues even near the zenith.

Recommended with reservations. There are other better mounts out there for a little more money. But for some applications the AZ3 will work fine.